For enable the peer cache feature, it’s necessary to activate the feature in Administration>Overview>Updates and Servicing>Features

You can minimize and improve the network transferts in activated the option below (Configure client peer cache sources to divide content into parts. These parts minimize the network transfer to reduce WAN utilization):

After that, le’t go for the peer cache configuration!

The first one is the prerequisite:

One or many workstations dedicated to be peer cache client

Boundaries and boundaries Group configured

Collection with Clients Settings configured with the peer cache option

Reminder for the peer client cache configuration:

A peer cache source rejects requests for content when it meets any of the following conditions at the time a peer requests content:

Low battery mode

Processor load exceeds 80%

Disk I/O has an AvgDiskQueueLength that exceeds 10

There are no more available connections to the computer

A-Peer cache configuration and requirement parameters

1-Create the target collection for the peer cache client (in my example, i have two clients)

Por for content download from peer = 8003 (You don’t miss to open this port on yours firewalls)

3-Create a second collection with all clients included in the same boundaries group that the peer cache client (This collection is used for generalize application deployment = after you will deploy the application on yours peer cache client)

5-At this moment, i can check in CAS.log if the package is donwloaded in the cache of my client by the distribution point and if his present in the cache (this step is necessary and it’s just for one time, the first time)

6-Now, if i install the 7 Zip package on another workstation included in the same boundaries group, the package is good downloaded by the peer cache client (DataTransferService.log)

The following sections provide details about changes and new capabilities introduced in version 1610 of Configuration Manager.

In-console monitoring of update installation status

Beginning with version 1610, when you install an update pack and monitor the installation in the console, there is a new phase: Post Installation. This phase includes status for tasks like restarting key services, and initialization of replication monitoring. (This phase is not available in the console until after your site updates to version 1610.) For more information about update installation status, see Install in-console updates.

Exclude clients from automatic upgrade

You can exclude Windows clients from getting upgraded with new versions of the client software. To do this, you include the client computers in a collection that is specified to be excluded from upgrade. Clients in the excluded collection ignore requests to update the client software. For more information, see Exclude Windows clients from upgrades.

Improvements for boundary groups

Version 1610 introduces important changes to boundary groups and how they work with distribution points. These changes can simplify the design of your content infrastructure, while giving you more control over how and when clients fallback to search additional distribution points as content source locations. This includes both on-premises and cloud-based distribution points. These improvements replace concepts and behaviors you might be familiar with (like configuring distribution points to be fast or slow). The new model should be easier to set up and maintain. These changes also lay the groundwork for future changes that will improve other site system roles you associate to boundary groups.

When you update to version 1610, the update converts your current boundary group configurations to fit the new model so that these changes do not disturb your existing content distribution configurations.

Peer Cache for content distribution to clients

Beginning with version 1610, client Peer Cache helps you manage deployment of content to clients in remote locations. Peer Cache is a built-in Configuration Manager solution for clients to share content with other clients, directly from their local cache.

After you deploy client settings that enable Peer Cache to a collection, members of that collection can act as a peer content source for other clients in the same boundary group.

You can also use the new Client Data Sources dashboard to understand the use of Peer Cache content sources in your environment.

Migrate multiple shared distribution points at the same time

You can now use the option to Reassign Distribution Point to have Configuration Manager process in parallel the reassignment of up to 50 shared distribution points at the same time. Prior to this release, reassigned distribution points were processed one at a time. For more information see, Migrate multiple shared distribution points at the same time.

Cloud management gateway for managing Internet-based clients

Cloud management gateway provides a simple way to manage Configuration Manager clients on the Internet. The cloud management gateway service, which is deployed to Microsoft Azure and requires an Azure subscription, connects to your on-premises Configuration Manager infrastructure using a new role called the cloud management gateway connection point. Once it’s completely deployed and configured, clients can communicate with on-premises Configuration Manager site system roles and cloud-based distribution points regardless of whether they’re connected to the internal private network or on the Internet. For more information and to see how cloud management gateway compares with Internet-based client management, see Manage clients on the Internet.

Improvements to the Windows 10 Edition Upgrade Policy

In this release, the following improvements have been made to this policy type:

You can now use the edition upgrade policy with Windows 10 PCs that run the Configuration Manager client in addition to Windows 10 PCs that are enrolled with Microsoft Intune.

You can upgrade from Windows 10 Professional to any of the platforms in the wizard that are compatible with your hardware.

Manage hardware identifiers

You can now provide a list of hardware IDs that Configuration Manager should ignore for the purpose of PXE boot and client registration. There are two common issues that this helps to address:

Many devices, like the Surface Pro 3, do not include an onboard Ethernet port. A USB-to-Ethernet adapter is generally used to establish a wired connection for the purpose of deploying an operating system. However, due to cost and general usability, these are often shared adapters. Because the MAC address of this adapter is used to identify the device, reusing the adapter becomes problematic without additional administrator actions between each deployment. Now in Configuration Manager version 1610, you can exclude the MAC address of this adapter so that it can easily be reused in this scenario.

The SMBIOS ID is supposed to be a unique hardware identifier, but some specialty hardware devices are built with duplicate IDs. This issue may not be as common as the USB-to-Ethernet adapter scenario just described, but you can address it by using the list of excluded hardware IDs.

Policy sync for Intune-enrolled devices

You can now request a policy sync for an Intune-enrolled device from the Configuration Manager console, instead of needing to request a sync from the Company Portal app on the device itself. Sync request state information is available as a new column in device views, called Remote Sync State. The information is also available in the discovery data section of the Properties dialog for each device. For details, see Remotely synchronize policy on Intune-enrolled devices from the Configuration Manager console.

New columns in device collection views

Customizable branding for Software Center dialogs

Custom branding for the Software Center was introduced in Configuration Manager version 1602. In version 1610, that branding is now extended to all associated dialog boxes to provide a more consistent experience to Software Center users.

Custom branding for the Software Center is applied according to the following rules:

If the Application Catalog website point site server role is not installed, then Software Center displays the organization name specified in the Computer Agent client setting Organization name displayed in Software Center. For instructions, see How to configure client settings.

If the Application Catalog website point site server role is installed, then Software Center displays the organization name and color specified in the Application Catalog website point site server role properties. For more information, see Configuration options for Application Catalog website point.

If a Microsoft Intune subscription is configured and connected to the Configuration Manager environment, then Software Center displays the organization name, color, and company logo specified in the Intune subscription properties. For more information, see Configuring the Microsoft Intune subscription.

Enforcement grace period for required application and software update deployments

In some cases, you might want to give users more time to install required application deployments or software updates beyond any deadlines you set up. For example, this might be necessary when a computer has been turned off for an extended period of time and it needs to install a large number of application or update deployments. For example, if an end user has just returned from vacation, they might have to wait for a long while as overdue application deployments are installed. To help solve this problem, you can now define an enforcement grace period by deploying Configuration Manager client settings to a collection.

To configure the grace period, take the following actions:

On the Computer Agent page of client settings, configure the new property Grace period for enforcement after deployment deadline (hours) with a value between 1 and 120 hours.

In a new required application deployment, or in the properties of an existing deployment, on the Schedulingpage, select the check box Delay enforcement of this deployment according to user preferences, up to the grace period defined in client settings. All deployments that have this check box selected, and are targeted to devices to which you also deployed the client setting, will use the enforcement grace period.

If you configure an enforcement grace period and select the checkbox, once the application install deadline is reached, it will be installed in the first non-business window that the user configured up to that grace period. However, the user can still open Software Center and install the application at any time they want. Once the grace period expires, enforcement reverts to normal behavior for overdue deployments. Similar options have been added to the software updates deployment wizard, automatic deployment rules wizard, and properties pages.

Improved functionality in dialog boxes about required software

When a user receives required software, from the Snooze and remind me: setting, they can select from the following drop-down list of values:

Later. Specifies that notifications are scheduled based on the notification settings configured in Client Agent settings.

Fixed time. Specifies that the notification will be scheduled to display again after the selected time (for example, in 30 minutes).